New Scottish band Akord bring hard rock from the Granite City

On the cusp of securing top spot at their third competition in as many months, the Granite City's noiseniks Akord have been rapidly attracting major attention from both sides of the border; all of which has been impressively amassed prior to the release of their debut EP.

In their very first print interview, Akord talk to The List about mind tricks, elastic faces and buying pogo sticks...

Hello. First off, in one sentence, can you summarise AkordIf Karnivool, Tool, Incubus and Rush had a baby, they would name it AKORD!

You've been making a lot of noise up in Aberdeen for three years now, and the last few months you've been cleaning up at competitions. Have you been bribing the judges?

Well with Derren Brown on the vocals, who knows what mind tricks he has been playing on them!

It seems Fat Goth aren't the only northern Scottish act Kerrang! have taken a shining too, as you won their Kerrang! Big Audition! Competition. How was rubbing shoulders with the industry bigwigs?

Doing the breakfast show on Kerrang Radio with Loz & Keith was a hoot! It was a real privilege to meet Alex Baker and Mike Duce. We'll be heading back soon. They're having us round for high tea and then we're going dress shopping.

You received £2,000 after winning The Drummond's 2K Tournament to buy new equipment. Have you tried out your new toys yet?

Yes. Sandy is still recovering in hospital. He will never buy another pogo stick... It took us along time to realise it was for musical equipment!

But mainly, we have used it for milage and aiding the release of Carry The Sound.

You're also well on your way to winning the Red Bull Studios competition, having held the top spot for two weeks. What one track will you be recording in their professional studio as your clip for the competition's next stage?

If we get through, we plan on recording a new track that blew the socks off a lot of old ladies at the Big Audition.

If there's a continuation of your voting popularity, you'll be sharing a bill at Download with Slipknot and Iron Maiden. If successful, what's on the cards for Akord at Download?

To play the best show to date and freak people out with our elastic faces.

Your five-track debut EP Carry The Sound is out 1 May. In a nutshell, what's the EP about?

Lyrically, it's an optimistic journey through a series of different situations. Each song dynamically shifts to match a certain mood. Expect some ripping solos, luxury riffs and mean bass!

With Biffy finally earning a headline spot at Reading and Leeds, Twin Atlantic's exposure to millions at Felix Baumgartner's space jump and Fat Goth's cartoon Kerrang! immortalisation, you could say noisy Scottish music is thriving. Who gets Akord excited?

The fans, because of the rapport we have built with them and the genuine support they have continued to give us. Band-wise, we love the likes of Karnivool, Tool, Oceansize and Rush. In terms of Scottish music, Biffy Clyro are a massive inspiration to us all - they really helped put Scotland more on the map for music and we would love to do the same. Also, Fonik, a musician who actually did some guest drumming on our album, is definitely worth checking out!

Akord play The Moorings in Aberdeen on Saturday 25 May. Akord's debut EP 'Carry The Sound' was released on 1 May.